MAU Moʻolelo Blog

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Dear reading companions of the ala ʻūlili, from one corner to the other corner of our beloved homelands of Hawaiʻi, aloha to you all. Here we are continuing along the path of tradition of our famous aliʻi, ʻUmi-a-Līloa, and if perhaps your body has become weary from the long journey along the steep trails, then sit and rest here with the generosity of this aliʻi from Hāmākua. In this portion of our moʻolelo, your eyes with bare witness to the deeds that made famous this aliʻi, the deeds that are tended to by a true aliʻi, a pono aliʻi. For this moʻolelo stands as a reminder for us, the living descendants today, so that we may come to know of what establishes pono, or disturbs it, in the work of governance. ʻUmi was an aliʻi by the will of the people he cared for, that is, the "big person" and the "small person," and it is for this reason that the people of old would speak of these wise words: "The ʻāina creates the foundation upon which the people are born. The people create the foundation upon which the aliʻi are born." Therefore, dear aloha ʻāina, dear people who love this ʻāina of our Hawaiian Islands, let us continue on.

Chapter 3.

Thus, ʻUmi returned with Kaleiokū, and the two stayed together there at his residence [at Waipunalei]. And so the work of Kaleiokū immediately began. His work was that which would ensure that the kingdom would be ruled by his aliʻi, ʻUmi. For he understood that ʻUmi truly was an aliʻi. He fed the people. He fed the animals, pigs and the chickens. He was a farmer. And he was well learned in the use of a spear, coming from the same school as that of other men skilled in the use of bows (that is, Kōī, ʻŌmaʻokāmau, and Piʻimaiwaʻa).

During ʻUmi's residence there, he remained for a significant period of time. Within that period of residence, a great number of people came to live there. The number of people was equal to that of four kaʻau (x40), that being, 160 houses. Within one kaʻau (group of 40) houses was one lau (400) of people, and so it was for each kaʻau of houses, equalling to four lau of people, that being 1,600 people total. That was how Kaleiokū supplied his aliʻi, with all the necessities to prepare him. For it was Kaleiokū's intention to bring the kingdom under the rule of his aliʻi. That is why he prepared the people with lessons in fighting with spears.

Oh reader, here is another branch of this path of tradition regarding ʻUmi's residence with Kaleiokū. According to S. M. Kamakau, "When Kaleiokū became a guardian for ʻUmi, they began to feed the people until each and every hālau was filled. Tens upon tens of hālau were filled with a multitude of people. When the people of Hilo went to Hāmākua for salt, they were fed pork. And when those of Hāmākua, Kohala, and Kona journeyed to Hilo and Puna for feathers, they were greeted at the place where ʻUmi fed his people. Without even a year passing, the people were swarming in numbers, and the generosity of ʻUmi became well-known. The main work of the people was in farming, and in the evenings the things related to battle were taught. Eventually, word spread as far as Waipiʻo that ʻUmi was in residence with Kaleiokū, and that he was a generous aliʻi. He cared for the "big person" and the "small person" for the elderly men and women, for the children, for those in destitution, and for the sick."

The elderly kahuna of Hakau were overwhelmed by sickness. These elderly men drank a purgative medicine, and when their coconut shell cups were taken, the pain in their stomachs resided. At that moment, they told their attendants to go to their chief, Hakau, because these old men were favorites of Līloa, the father of Hakau and ʻUmi. Here is the reason for Līloa favoring them. Theirs alone was the task of caring for Kāʻili, the akua of Līloa, no one else could do the same. If war was imminent, Līloa went to them, and it was they who told him, "No war," and it was finished. And so it was for each and every difficulty of the kingdom, until the time of Līloa's passing arrived, and the ʻāina was inherited by Hakau.

When one of the attendants of these old men went before Hakau, the aliʻi asked of them, "What is your business here?" The attendant responded, "I have come before you, oh chief, because the old men have sent me to come before you to request some food, fish, and ʻawa for them, so that the purgative medicine they took can be complete." The aliʻi responded to them, "Return to them and tell them no." Their attendant then returned to them and told them what the aliʻi had said. When they heard that the aliʻi had only very wicked words for them, a plot of conspiracy developed in their naʻau (rule of the ʻāina would be taken by ʻUmi).

In the time they spent after the words of the aliʻi were heard, their thoughts were burdened by great displeasure. One of the old m"en said to the other, "What about the hānai of Kaleiokū that we heard about? Perhaps we should go there?" The other old man agreed, "Yes, let us go see for ourselves what is good and perhaps not good of his hānai." Their thoughts were in alignment.

According to S. M. Kamakau, "Nunu and Kakohe wanted to see for themselves, because Kaleiokū was a kaikaina (younger familial relative) of theirs, coming from a common parent, that is, they came from the same womb, and from the priestly class of Lono."

And so they began their journey. They traveled for three nights along the trail from Waipiʻo heading towards Hilo, on the northern side of Hāmākua.

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